Ruffling attachment for a stitching machine

ABSTRACT

A ruffling attachment for a stitching machine of the type having a frame with front and side vertical walls, a needle plate mounted on the frame, and a drive shaft extending through side wall. The ruffling attachment is comprised of a rocker shaft mounted on the front wall, means for converting the rotary motion of the drive shaft to oscillating motion in the rocker shaft, and means for converting the oscillating motion in the rocker shaft to reciprocating motion of a ruffler blade above the needle plate.

United States Patent Baumhaft 51 Apr. 4, 1972 [54] RUFFLING ATTACHMENTFOR A STITCHING MACHINE [72] Inventor: Irving Baumhaft, Wilkes Barre,Pa.

[73] Assignee: Pennsylvania Sewing Research Corporation [22] Filed: Jan.22, 1968 211 Appl.No.: 699,598

[52] 11.8. CI. ..l12/l34, 308/65 [51] Int. Cl. ..D05b 35/08 [58] FieldofSearch ..112/134,135,132,133,131,

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 986,652 3/1911 Strobeck..1l2/l32 1,143,903 6/1915 Hanson ..112/132 1,156,695 10/1915 Kozub..308/65 X 1,481,340 1/1924 Becker ....112/135 2,193,256 3/1940Plamondow et a1. ....112/132 2,747,531 5/1956 Galkin ,...1 12/1323,221,688 12/1965 Marforio ..l12/162 Primary Examiner-H. Hampton Hunter7 Attorney-LeRoy Greenspan [57] ABSTRACT A ruffling attachment for astitching machine of the type haying a frame with front and sidevertical walls, a needle plate mounted on the frame, and a drive shaftextending through side wall. The ruffling attachment is comprised of arocker shaft mounted on the front wall, means for converting the rotarymotion of the drive shaft to oscillating motion in the rocker shaft, andmeans for converting the oscillating motion in the rocker shaft toreciprocating motion of a ruffler blade above the needle plate.

7 Claims, 7 Drawing Figures PATENTEU APR 4 I973 SHEEI 1 [IF 2 7 w m w m/WM M PATENTEDAPR 4 1912 SHEET 2 [1F 2 RUFFLING ATTACHMENT FOR ASTITCI'IING MACHINE BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Stitching machines ofthe type having a frame with front and side vertical walls, a needleplate mounted on the frame, and a drive shaft extending through and outof the side wall are widely used commercially. One family of suchmachines is known in the trade as the Rimoldi Class 29 or Rimoldi safetystitch machines. The basic mechanism of one such machine is described indetail in US. Pat. No. 3,221,688 to Nerino Marforio.

In order to appreciate fully the advantages of the adaption of thepresent rufiling attachment to the Rimoldi Class 29 Machine, thefollowing aspects of this machine should be noted.

l. The Rimoldi machine is equipped with a knife for cutting the edge ofthe goods to a uniform width simultaneously with the stitching.

2. This machine is equipped with two needles and two loopers and can beused with either four or five threads.

These and other features of the machine are found within one small,congested area which makes the threading of the machine ratherdifficult. This is especially true after the machine has been used forawhile, because the knife, while cutting the edge of the material,creates a lot of lint, and the presence of this debris makes threadingmore difficult. Therefore, adding another function to the machine wouldbe expected to compound these difficulties.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In spite of the aforementioned congestion anddifficulties, it has been found possible to add the present mechanism tothe machine for the purpose of providing a ruffling function in themachine. To this end, a rocker shaft is mounted on the front wall of themachine, and means are provided for converting the rotary motion of themain drive shaft of the machine to oscillatory motion of the rockershaft. A blade arm extends from one end of the rocker shaft, and aspringloaded ruffling blade is mounted on the extended end of the bladearm.

In operation, the rotation of the main drive shaft produces a reciprocalmotion which, through the rocker shaft and the blade arm, causes theruffling blade to advance and retract along the needle plate. Thegeometry is such that the angle of the blade with respect to the needleplate is large at the outset of each stroke and becomes progressivelysmaller as the blade advances. This motion produces regular and uniformpleats.

THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective view, partly broken away, of astitching machine provided with the novel ruffling attachment;

FIG. 2 is a side view of the machine ofFIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a broken away sectional view on the line 3-3 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a broken away view of portions of the rocker shaft and bladearm of the machine of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a broken away sectional view through the rocker shaft on theline 5-5 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is a broken away sectional view of the fabric-engaging blade ofthe novel attachment; and

FIG. 7 is a broken away sectional view illustrating the operation ofthis device.

PREFERRED EMBODIMENT The novel ruffling attachment is adapted for usewith a stitching machine of the type designated at 10 in the drawings,which is similar in construction to that described in the cited US. Pat.No. 3,221,688 to N. Marfario. The machine 10 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 hasa base or frame 12 for supporting the various mechanisms required toeffect the stitching or sewing function, including a needle mechanism 14mounted adjacent to a vertical wall 16 of the frame 12. A needle plate18 is disposed beneath the needle mechanism 14. Beneath the needle plate18 is machinery, not shown, for cooperating with the needle 20 of themachine for completing a locked stitch.

A presser foot 22 is supported by an arm 24 on a double axis hingemechanism 26, so that the arm 24 may be swung out to remove the presserfoot 22 from its normal operative position. Compare FIGS. 1 and 2. Themachine 10 also has a cover plate 28, pivoted at 30, for supporting thefabric and for protecting the underlying mechanisms.

Beneath the plane of the needle plate 18 and the cover plate 28, theframe 12 has a front vertical wall 32 and a side vertical wall 34 whichis parallel to the vertical wall 16. At the side of the machine 10opposite to the side wall 34 is a vertical wall 36 which, together withthe wall 34, provides bearing support for the main drive shaft of themachine, designated by the numeral 38. Rotating power is applied at theend of the drive shaft 38 adjacent to the wall 36 by means of a pulley40, fixedly mounted on the shaft 38, and a drive belt 42 connected to amotor, not shown. The drive shaft 38 extends through the machine 10 andterminates at a location adjacent to the wall 34. Power for the presentruffling attachment is taken from the drive shaft 38 at this end.

The ruffling attachment, indicated generally by the numeral 44 in FIGS.1 and 2, is mounted almost entirely beneath the needle plate 18 and thecover plate 28 so that it does not interfere in any way with the normaloperation of the machine 10. The rulfling attachment 44 comprises ablade 46, having a fabric engaging toothed end 48, which is resilientlybiased against the upper surface of the needle plate 18, as will appearmore fully hereinafter. The blade 46 is reciprocated by power from thedrive shaft 38 transmitted by a linkage including an eccentric mechanism50, a link 52, a crank 54, and a rocker shaft 56.

The eccentric mechanism 50 is provided with means for varying the strokeof the link 52. Thus, as shown in FIG. 3, the drive shaft 38 carries abushing 58 on which is concentrically mounted an anti-friction bearing60 for supporting the end of the drive shaft in the wall 34. The bushing58 has an eccentric cylindrical boss 62 and a second bushing 64, havinga complementary cylindrical recess 66, is supported on this boss. Thesecond bushing 64 has an outwardly extending tubular portion 68, whichpivotally supports a sleeve 70, which is one end of the link 52, throughantifriction bearing means 72.

The tubular portion 68 is eccentric with respect to the recess 66 in thebushing 64, and the combination of the eccentricities of the boss 62 andthe tubular portion 68 allows the tubular portion 68 to be made more orless eccentric with respect to the drive shaft 38, by rotation of thebushing 64 with respect to the bushing 58. The adjustment is maintained,and the parts are held in assembled relation, by a washer 74 and aheaded bolt 76, the threaded end 78 of which is received in a suitabletapped bore in the end of the drive shaft 38.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the link 52 has a first cylindrical portion78 attached at one of its ends to the sleeve 70 and which carries forrotation at its other end a nut 80. A second cylindrical portion 82 ofthe link 52 has a coaxial threaded shaft 84 which is threadedly receivedin the nut and telescopes freely within the first cylindrical portion78. The other end of the second cylindrical portion 82 is pivotallyconnected to a block 86 which engages the crank 54.

The crank 54 is comprised of a split sleeve 88, frictionally engagedwith the rocker shaft 56 by means of a clamping screw 90, and adepending arcuate arm 92 which is received in a suitably shaped openingin the block 86 of the link 52. The position of the block 86 along thearm 92 may be changed in order to change the stroke of the blade 46. Toaccomplish this during operation of the machine, when adjustment of themechanism 50 would not be possible, a lever 94 is provided which ispivotally mounted at 96 and which may be moved by the operator by meansof a foot treadle, not shown, connected to the lever 94 by means of achain 98.

The rocker shaft 56 is supported for oscillation by a pair of spacedbearing assemblies 100 which are part of a bearing block 102 mounted onthe front wall 32 of the machine 10. Each of the bearing assemblies 100contains a sleeve bearing 104 which is made of a metal which isrelatively soft and which is porous in order to retain a quantity oflubricating oil.

The outer periphery of the bearing 104 is clamped within acorrespondingly shaped opening in each of the assemblies 100. A slot 106in each of the assemblies defines a weakened portion 108 which acts as apivot for clamping portion 110 of the bearing assembly 100. A bolt 112extends freely through the portion 110 and is threadedly engaged in theblock 102 so that it may be used to draw the sides of the slot 106toward each other and thereby clamp the bearing sleeve 104 in place.

One of the unique features of the novel device is the sleeve bearing104. In order to compensate for wear, this hearing is made, as statedabove, of relatively soft metal. This is in contrast to prior structuresin which hard metal is used for its wear resistant qualities, and weartake-up is accomplished by providing one or more radial slits in thebearing to allow its inner diameter to be changed. Here, the bearing isa complete annulus and the entire bearing is compressed by means of theforce exerted by the screw 112. In further contrast to prior splitsleeve bearings, the bearing 104 provides for ease of assembly, sincethe sleeve may be oriented in any way; and, in addition, the bearing 104provides an unexpected advantage in that it may be rotated in theassembly 100 over a period of use to reposition the points of maximumwear. That is, because of the fact that the shaft 56 oscillates, itsangular velocity is cyclical, and it has two points of zero velocity andtwo points of maximum velocity during each cycle. Maximum wear willoccur at the points of maximum velocity and the present unique bearingmay be rotated from time to time to position other points on the bearingat these points. Thus, even though the material of the bearing 104 maybe softer than prior bearing metals, the bearing has a longer lifebecause wear may be evenly distributed.

As shown in FIG. 4, the shaft 56 has a terminal end in which is slidablymounted a blade arm 114, the axis of which is normal to the axis of therocker shaft 56. A set screw 115 serves to retain the adjustment of thearm 114. At its upper end, as best seen in FIG. 6, the blade arm 114 hasa right angled portion 116 extending parallel to the rocker shaft 56.Loosening of the set screw 115 and sliding adjustment of the blade arm114 with respect to the rocker shaft 56 varies the distance between theaxis of the shaft 56 and the blade arm portion 116 to vary the generalangle of the blade 46 with respect to the needle plate l8. It will beapparent that during operation, the arm portion 116 will oscillatethrough a circular are about the axis of the bearing assemblies 100.

The arm portion 116 rotatably carries the blade 46, as best illustratedin FIG. 6. As shown there, the blade 46 has a rectangular frame 118provided with a pair of coaxial apertures 120 for accommodating the armportion 116. To prevent axial movement of the blade 46 and to retain oneend of a spring 122, the arm portion 116 carries a collar 124 disposedwithin the frame 118. A set screw 125 retains the collar 124 in anydesired position with respect to the arm portion 116. An aperture 126 inthe collar 124 receives one end of the spring 122, and the other end ofthe spring is received in an aperture 128 in the frame 118. The spring122 forces the fabric-engaging end 48 of the blade 46 down against theneedle plate 18 and against the fabric when the machine is operated.

OPERATION In operation, the main drive shaft 38 is rotated by the motor,not shown, through the belt 42 and the pulley 40. Rotation of the driveshaft 38 is converted to reciprocating motion by shown in FIG. 2, theblock 86 lies a greater distance from the center of the rocker shaft 56so that there is substantial movement of the rocker shaft 56. Hence, thelever 94 remains up while the fabric is positioned. Then, afterpositioning the fabric, the lever 94 is moved to the down position.

Oscillation of the rocker shaft 56, with the lever 94 in the downposition, causes the fabric-engaging end 48 of the blade 46 toreciprocate slidingly along the upper surface of the needle plate 18.Inasmuch as the fabric is frictionally held between the pressor foot 22and the fabric-advancing dog of the machine (shown at 130), motion ofthe blade 46 (from the full line position of FIG. 7 to the dotted lineposition thereof) forces the fabric into a reversed fold indicated at132. This fold is then drawn under the presser foot by the dog 130 andthe resulting three layers of fabric are sewn together to form thefinished ruffle. Every rotation of the drive shaft 38 repeats thisoperation.

The size of the finished ruffle is determined by the length of thestroke of the ruffler blade 46. Several adjustments are available whichaffect the length of the stroke of the blade 46. The adjustments includeadjustment of the eccentricity of the eccentric mechanism 50, radialadjustment of the blade arm 1 14 with respect to the rocker shaft 56,and, during operation of the machine, adjustment of the position of theblock 86 along the arm 92 by means of the lever 94.

Other variations in the construction of the machine l0\may be madewithout departing from the spirit of the invention. For example, thelever 94 and the block 86 may be omitted and the link 52 connecteddirectly to a fixed position on the crank 92 through a pivot pin.

What is claimed is:

l. A ruffling attachment for a stitching machine of the type having aframe including a front vertical wall and a side vertical wall, a needleplate adjacent to said front vertical wall, a presser foot, and arotating drive shaft extending through said side vertical wall andterminating in a plane adjacent thereto, said attachment comprising arocker shaft mounted on said front vertical wall for oscillating motionabout an axis substantially parallel to the plane of said front verticalwall,

means for converting the rotating motion of said drive shaft tooscillating motion of said rocker shaft, said means connecting saiddrive shaft with said rocker shaft,

a blade arm connected to and extending radially of said rocker shaft andhaving a terminal portion extending parallel to said rocker shaft,

a ruffler blade pivotally mounted on said terminal portion of said bladearm, said ruffler blade having a fabric-engaging end thereon, and

resilient means acting between said ruffler blade and said terminalportion of said blade arm for biasing said fabricengaging end of saidruffler blade into contact with a fabric on said needle plate,

said ruffler blade cooperating with said presser foot to produce adouble fold in said fabric on each reciprocation of said ruffler blade,said double fold constituting a ruffle in said fabric.

2. A ruffling attachment as defined in claim 1 wherein said means forconverting rotating motion of said drive shaft to oscillating motion ofsaid rocker shaft comprises an eccentric mechanism mounted on the end ofsaid drive shaft adjacent to said side vertical wall, a crank attachedto said rocker shaft and having a crank arm extending generally radiallyof said rocker shaft, and a link connected at one of its ends to saideccentric mechanism and at the other of its ends to said crank.

3. A ruffling attachment as defined in claim 2 wherein said crank armhas a block slidably carried thereon, said link being pivotally attachedto said block.

4. A ruffling attachment as defined in claim 3 further comprising meansfor changing the position of said block on said arm while said stitchingmachine is operating.

5. A ruffling attachment as defined in claim 4 wherein said blockposition changing means includes a lever pivotally mounted on said sidevertical wall, said lever engaging said block on said crank arm to movesaid block along said crank arm,

6. A ruffling attachment as defined in claim 1, wherein said said bladearm terminal portion.

7. A ruffling attachment as defined in claim 6 further comprising acollar rotatably mounted on said blade arm terminal portion and a setscrew for fixedly attaching said collar to said resilient means is acoil spring surrounding said blade arm ter- 5 blade arm terminalPortion, Said other end of Said Spring minal portion, one end of saidspring being fixed to said blade and the other end of said spring beingadjustably attached to being fixedly attached to said collar.

1. A ruffling attachment for a stitching machine of the type having aframe including a front vertical wall and a side vertical wall, a needleplate adjacent to said front vertical wall, a presser foot, and arotating drive shaft extending through said side vertical wall andterminating in a plane adjacent thereto, said attachment comprising arocker shaft mounted on said front vertical wall for oscillating motionabout an axis substantially parallel to the plane of said front verticalwall, means for converting the rotating motion of said drive shaft tooscillating motion of said rocker shaft, said means connecting saiddrive shaft with said rocker shaft, a blade arm connected to andextending radially of said rocker shaft and having a terminal portionextending parallel to said rocker shaft, a ruffler blade pivotallymounted on said terminal portion of said blade arm, said ruffler bladehaving a fabric-engaging end thereon, and resilient means acting betweensaid ruFfler blade and said terminal portion of said blade arm forbiasing said fabricengaging end of said ruffler blade into contact witha fabric on said needle plate, said ruffler blade cooperating with saidpresser foot to produce a double fold in said fabric on eachreciprocation of said ruffler blade, said double fold constituting aruffle in said fabric.
 2. A ruffling attachment as defined in claim 1wherein said means for converting rotating motion of said drive shaft tooscillating motion of said rocker shaft comprises an eccentric mechanismmounted on the end of said drive shaft adjacent to said side verticalwall, a crank attached to said rocker shaft and having a crank armextending generally radially of said rocker shaft, and a link connectedat one of its ends to said eccentric mechanism and at the other of itsends to said crank.
 3. A ruffling attachment as defined in claim 2wherein said crank arm has a block slidably carried thereon, said linkbeing pivotally attached to said block.
 4. A ruffling attachment asdefined in claim 3 further comprising means for changing the position ofsaid block on said arm while said stitching machine is operating.
 5. Aruffling attachment as defined in claim 4 wherein said block positionchanging means includes a lever pivotally mounted on said side verticalwall, said lever engaging said block on said crank arm to move saidblock along said crank arm.
 6. A ruffling attachment as defined in claim1, wherein said resilient means is a coil spring surrounding said bladearm terminal portion, one end of said spring being fixed to said bladeand the other end of said spring being adjustably attached to said bladearm terminal portion.
 7. A ruffling attachment as defined in claim 6further comprising a collar rotatably mounted on said blade arm terminalportion and a set screw for fixedly attaching said collar to said bladearm terminal portion, said other end of said coil spring being fixedlyattached to said collar.